Automatic elevator



June 15, 1948.

A. E. JACKSON AUTOMATIC ELEVATOR Filed March 3,, 1947' INVENTOR; ALBEZPTE clqcms'ozv, BY. 1

HTTOFNEK Patented June 15, 1948 LAUI'QMATIC ELEVATOR Albert- E2 Jackson, Qolumbuarind;

'. Al plicationMarchfi, 1947,;iSeria1No. 731,987

(Cld214-99.)

station, Where another, Weight will be automatically fedto the car, and so on, continuously, so long as the supplyof'weights is maintained at the upper station. A further object of'theinvention is to provide ,sucha device in which'the descent offthe weightedcar isu'tilizedto impart to an inertia, member amomentum sufficient to return the, ,car, unweighted, fromthe lower station to the upper, station; andv in. whicnthe direction of rotation of\ the, inertiamember is reversed each time-the .car. attainsthe upperv station, but continues throughout the clescent of: the ear andthe ,subsequentlascent. thereof. A. further object of the. invention is .to provide, novel means for feeding-weights to theoar at the upper station and, for dischargingsuchvweig-hts from the car at the lower -;s.tatien, the:- entire ope-ration being: automatic salons-asthe-supplyoi weights is maintained ,at the upperstation.

vfhile the 5' invention finds its. primary utility as artoy, and a is so? illustrated and: will be "so described,- it will .beapparent to those skilled'in the arttz-that; should it-rbe: desired to transport weights from-anrupper fioor in a factory, one at a time, to a: lower -floor,-"the principle underlying the present invention would be applicable to the solution =01" such a problem.

Further objects of the'inven-tionwill appear as thedescriptlon proceeds.

" To the accomplishment of"the a'hoveand re lated objeots,- my I invention may be embodied in the iorm'illust'rated in the aecompanyin-g' drawings,- attention' heirigcalleci to the :fact, however,

:thatlthe drawings areillustrative only, and that change may -be-'made in-' the-specific construction iliustratedanddeserihed, so long as the scope of the appended claims is-not violated;

Fig; lis a;frontelevational-viewof ah-emloodiment of rny-invention;

Fig-2 1s a: fragmentai perspective view, uponan enlarged isca-le; of the upper end *of" the said embodiment;

' 3;is1a 'fragm'ental perspective view 0f the :lowerendthereof; r

Fig: 4* is" a fragmenta'l' sideel'evatlon "of'the weight ieeding means u 'lized 'init'heuillustrated embodiment of the- -in-vention; and? *Fig: 5-is asimilar view-of the weightedischargs ing means utilized inthe illustrated embodiment oi-the-invention *While the underlying principle wot imy: invention-maybe variously embodied, lhaye illustrated herein-a tower-nine frame; indicated enerally by the reference-numeral I 9.; and: comprising; auplu- 'rality (in 'this -case- 49 of legs or pillars ll 1;: converging: upwardlyandconnected; at theiri-upper enclsby a platform 12 and neartheir, lowerlends -by-a--platfor-m= l3i Sui-tablysecured, as-by=spot welding; totality-platform L|'2 iS-fiJU J-shaped bracket -& 4' having I parallelg upstanding earsefii and $16 provided near their upper- 1 ends with bearings cl l "of 'a'n axle'ilfi. i I'ntlzreillnstrated 'embodiment' of was invention; the .bearings-H are: merely pressed'sookets inithe' sheet 'metalears-'-I5 and I8, =and--the axle :e-nds' lrw are t'arpered' ton-reception in -said; sockets. The axle---ends may be entered :in: said' socketswby spreading the-:uppenends: of theearsa whereafter the inherent resil'iencyof the sheetmetal ih'racket will return the ears to 1 sulostantiab parallelism,

Y thus'retainingtheaxle-ends in said sockets, I 0bviously, in an -industrial -emhodiment 'of the in vention; more substantiat bearing: means: or IE) would beprovide'd;

1 An inertia element- 'is operatively -associated with the *ax-le -i 9'; In the illustrated embodiment of th invention,- 'said element-- comprises a: flywheel diso--illl 'xed to said axle; One vend of a flexible strand-#2 l which, in" the illustrated emfio'odi-ment of the invention maybs a 7 simple corcl or' string; but which; in an industrial -embodi- 5 merit of ishe invention would: he Wire cable, or I the=like,- is suitably anchored twtheexlefl 9, and

said strand is-adapted'=-to be= wound uponsaid axle in either of two oppositedireotlons; Said strand "extends through v registering apertures- 2 2 inthe-base ot-the bracket '14 and in the plat- Ii-tanda car QS-i-s suspended from the=opno- -site-end or-saidstran-d: The length of the strand 21 is such that, when itis completely unwound from the -axle*--l 9;;the car willbe positioned justaboveithejplatform 13;

' Inthe illustrated embodiment of theinven- 'tiongjthe' fioorof theear 23 is formed with-:an

aperture-- '24: therein; the diameter of said} apertureheing;slightly-lessthan the jdiameterpieach of aiseriesg of ballsQS'so" that, when one of those balls js'; introduced.,;.:into' the car it will come to resrwith v(merei itsmi-ncr cimies -supn rte po the "peripherymfthe"aperture -24, inthe'manner 3 particularly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 5, and will there be retained during descent of the car.

One means for guiding the car in its reciprocating movement is illustrated herein, and may comprise aligned perforations 26 in the top and bottom walls of the car 23 and on opposite sides thereof, together with a wire 21 whose opposite ends are threaded through suitable spaced openings in the base of the bracket |4 and the platform |2, so that the bight 29 is supported upon said bracket base, while the wire ends are led downwardly, in vertical parallelism, to be anchored upon ring bolts 33, or the like, fixed to the platform l3.

Near the upper end of the frame, I provide a trough or trackway 3|, fixed to the legs H, and inclining downwardly and inwardly toward the path of the car 23. At its lower end, I provide stop means comprising a pair of lips 32, 32 inclined upwardly and so disposed in the path of balls 25 received in the trough as to hold the same against downward movement. The lips 32, 32 are separated by a slot 33 so proportioned and designed that it extends rearwardly beyond the center of gravity of a ball resting against said lips. Projecting outwardly and upwardly from that edge of the bottom wall of the car 23 adjacent the lips 32 is a finger 34 so proportioned and designed that, as the car 23 approaches the upper limit of its path, said finger will engage a ball resting against the lips 32, at a point beyond the center of gravity of said ball, and will lift the same over the lips 32, in the manner illustrated in Fig. 4. It will be clear from an inspection of the drawings that the inclination of the finger 34 is such that, when such a ball 25 is lifted above the lips 32, it will be guided by the finger 34 to roll downwardly and into the aperture 24.

A tongue or finger 35 is struck up from the material of the platform l3 and projects vertically upwardly therefrom. Said tongue is so positioned that, when the car, carrying a ball, approaches the lower limit of its path the upper end of the tongue 35 will strike the ball at a point on the opposite side of the center of gravity of said ball from the finger 34 to arrest downward movement of the ball so that, as the car continues to descend, the ball will be urged toward the finger 34 and will be discharged from the car.

From the above description of structure, the operation of the illustrated device will be clear. One or more balls 25 being charged into the receptacle 3|, the axle l9 will be rotated, in either direction, to wind the strand 2| thereon, thereby elevating the car 23. As the finger 34 engages the lowermost ball in the receptacle 3| to lift the same over the lips 32, that ball will be fed into the car 23, and will find a seat upon the periphery of the aperture 24. Now, if the spindle is released, the combined weight of the car and the ball carried therein will cause the car 23 to descend, thus unwinding the strand 2| and causing rotation of the axle and its inertia element 20 in, for instance, a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. l. The mass and distribution of the inertia element 20 are so related to the length of the path of the car 23 and the combined weight of said car and the ball 25 that descent of the car from the feeding station to the discharging station will impart to the inertia element a momentum sufficient to return the unloaded car to the feeding station. Thus, as the car 23 nears the lowermost end of its path, the ball 25 strikes the tongue 35 and is discharged from the car. As has been said, the length of the strand 2| is such that it will be completely unwound from the axle Hi just before the car 23 reaches the platform I3.

Under the influence of the momentum imparted to the inertia element by descent of the car 23 and the consequent unwinding of the strand 2|, said inertia element will continue to spin, in the said counter-clockwise direction, whereby the strand 2| will be rewound upon th axle l9 but in the opposite direction, Thereby, the car 23, having been unloaded, will be elevated; and, as has been said, the parts are so designed and proportioned that the momentum of the element 20 is suflicient to return the car 23 to its starting point. As said car nears the upper limit of its path, the finger 34 will engage the next successive ball 25 in the receptacle 3|, which, of course, has moved down into engagement with the lips 32 upon removal of the first ball; and said finger will lift such next succeeding ball over the lips 32 and into the car 23, whereupon the cycle will be repeated,

the element 2i! spinning in a clockwise direction, this time, to permit the cable 2| to be unwound, and then to be rewound into its initial association with the axle.

This operation Will be continuously repeated so 1011;; as the receptacle 3| is kept charged with weights of the proper character.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a device of the class described, an inertia element journalled for rotation upon an elevated axis, a car, means cooperating with said car to guide the same upon a path between tWo points at difierent elevations, means providing an operative connection between said car and said element whereby said element is driven as said car descends and the momentum of said element thereupon tends to elevate said car, means for increasing the effective weight of said car as said car nears the upper of said two points, comprising an inclined trackway mounted adjacent said upper point and inclined downwardly and toward said path, rollable members arranged in file formation in said trackway, means at the lower end of said trackway for retaining said members, and means on said car o erable, as said oar approaches said upper point, to transfer that member currently nearest said lower end of said trackway from said trackway to said car, and means to decrease the 'efiective weight of said car as said car nears the lower of said two points, comprising a fioor in said car, means for normally retaining a rollablemember in said car on said floor, abutment means arranged adjacent the lower of said two points and cooperable with said retaining means, as said car nears said lower point, to release said element and cause the same to be discharged from said car.

2. The device of claim 1 in which said car floor is provided with an aperture adapted to receive and normally retain such rollable member, and in which said abutment means is arranged in registry with said aperture and engages such rollable member, as said car approaches said lower point, to eject such member from said car.

3. In a device of the class described, an axle, an inertia wheel fixed to said axle, means for supporting said axle for rotation upon an elevated, substantially horizontal axis, a flexible strand having one end anchored on said axle and adapted to be wound thereon, a weight-carrying car suspended on said strand and movable between upper and lower stations, means adjacent said upper station for automatically loading a weight upon said car as said car approaches said upper station, and means adjacent said lower station for automatically relieving said car of a carried weight as said car approaches said lower station, the effective length of said strand being substantially equal to the distance from said axle to said lower station, and said loading means comprising a storage receptacle for weights, said receptacle having a lower end and a higher end, said lower end being provided with a divided stop comprising two lips separated by a slot, said slot extending rearwardly beyond the center of gravity of a weight resting against said lips, and a finger carried on said car and operable, as said car approaches said upper station, to enter between said lips, engage said weight beyond its center of gravity, and lift the same over said lips to deposit the same in said car.

4. In a device of the class described, an axle, means supporting said iaxle for rotation upon an elevated horizontal axis, a flexible strand having one end anchored on said axle and adapted to be wound upon said axle in either of two opposite directions a car secured to the other end of said strand and movable up and down toward and away from said axle when said strand is wound upon and unwound from said axle, a plurality of weights adapted to be successively placed on said car and removed therefrom near the upper and lower limits of the path of said car, respectively, and inertia means associated with said axle, the mass and distribution of said inertia means being so related to the length of the path of said car and the combined weight of said car and any one of said, weights that the momentum impressed upon said inertia means by descent of said car carrying a, weight from an elevated starting point to a nadir at the limit of the length of said strand will be suflicient to rewind said strand upon said aXle to lift said car alone to such starting point.

5. In a device of the class described, an inertia element journalled for rotation upon an elevated axis, a car, means cooperating with said car to guide the same upon a path between two points at different elevations, means providing an operative connection between said car and said element whereby said element is driven as said car descends and the momentum of said element thereupon tends to elevate said car,

means for increasing the elfective weight of said car as said car nears the upper of, said two points and means to decrease the effective weight of said car as said car nears the lower of said two points, said weight-decreasing means comprising a floor in said car provided with an aperture adapted to receive and normally retain a rollable member, and an abutment means arranged adjacent the lower of said two points in registry with said aperture, said abutment means engaging such member, as said car approaches said lower point, to eject such member from said car.

6. In a device of the class described, a frame, a weight-carrying car mounted and guided for vertical reciprocation in said frame between upper and lower stations, means adjacent said upper station for automatically loading a weight upon said car as said car approaches said upper station, means adjacent said lower station for automatically relieving said car of a carried weight as said car approaches said lower station, and means for elevating said car when it is so relieved, said loading means comprising a storage receptacle for weights, said receptacle having a lower end and a higher end, said lower end being provided with a divided stop comprising two lips separated by a slot, said slot extending rearwardly beyond the center of gravity of a weight resting against said lips, and a finger carried by said car and operable, as said car approaches said upper station, to enter between said lips, engage said weight beyond its center of gravity, and lift the same over said lips to deposit the same in said ear.

ALBERT E. JACKSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 91,819 Bradbury June 29, 1869 698,933 Gould Apr. 29, 1902 1,023,124 Clark Apr. 16, 1912 1,404,728 Bain Jan. 31, 1922 1,452,608 Kirst Apr. 24, 1923 

